Cigarette holder for automobile ash trays



CIGARETTE HOLDER FOR AUTOMOBILE ASH TRAYS Filed Sept. 50. 1950 IN V ENTOR.

DA V/D STEPK/N AGENT Patented Oct. 14, 1 952 CIGARETTE'H OLDER FORAUTOMOBiLE ASH TRAYS DavidStepkin, Bronx,N. Y.

Application September 30, 1950, Serial No. 187,780

10 Claims. (01. 131 -235) My present invention relates to improvementsin cigarette holders of the type disclosed in my co-pending applicationSer. No. 180,475, filed August 19, 19-50, and which has beensubsequently abandoned, of which this application is acontinuation-in-part.

In my co-pending application, above identified,

I I have described a bifurcate member fiXed-lysecured to a conventionalautomobile ash receiver and adapted to retain a cigarette which thedriver may temporarily deposit therein in order to have full freedom ofboth hands.

The general object of the present invention is to provide a retractablecigarette holder in combination with means for automatically withdrawingsuch holder into the receptacle or tray when the latter is restored toits inoperative position in the dash board of an automobile, the holderprojecting from the receptacle when the tray is pulled out for use. V

A more specific object of this invention is to provide a retractablecigarette holder so mounted that it will not yield to finger pressurewhen the user attempts to deposit a cigarette therein, wherebydistraction of the drivers attentionduring use or" the holder willbe-avoided.

Another specific object of the instantinvention is to arrange the partsin an unostentatious manner and with a minimum of obstruction of theinterior of the receptacle.

It is also an object of my present invention to couple a cigaretteholder of the character set forth with a cigarette extinguisherretractable simultaneously with the former.

The invention will be described in detail with reference to theaccompanying drawing in which:

Fig. l is a side elevation of an ash receiver equipped with aretractable cigarette holder according to the present invention;

Fig. 2 is a top plan view of the forward portion of the receiver of Fig.'1 incorporating the retractable holder;

Fig. 3 is a section taken on the line 3-3 of Fig. 2, a portion of theadjacent part of the dash board being included for clarity;

Fig. 4. is a top plan view similar to Fig. 2 but representing amodification; and

Fig. 5 is a-section taken on the line 5-5 of Fig. i.

Referring first to Figs. 1-3, there is shown an ash receiver consisting,essentially, of a stationary housing It] set in the dash board II and areceptacle l2 slidable into and out of the housing. The receptacle isshown in Fig. 1 in its operative, or partly withdrawn, positionpermitting the driver to drop ashes into the forward part there- 2' of;complete removal of the receptacle from the housing enables the emptyingof the receptacle.

The holder I3, whose bifurcate shape is adapt= ed to retain a cigaretteMes seen inFig. 2, is pivotally mounted on a shaft I5 j ournaled inlugsit which extend inwardly from the front wall of the receptacle I2. Also,pivoted on the shaft I5 and rigid with the holder 1 3,-f-erming an acuteangle therewith, is a fork member I? whose prongs straddle the bight ofav generally U-shaped spring member I8. Thisspring member is seen toconsist of a single wire of; adequate resiliency, the ends of which arefixedsat I 9,. as by-s-oldering, to the side walls of the receptacle I2.The wire I8 is formed with'two aligned cam portions or humps Illa, oneon each arm of the. U, which in the operative position of the receptacleproject above its upper edge as clearly seen in Fig. 1. These humps areadapted to be cammed downwardly by the front edge of the housing illwhen the receptacle I2 is restored to its closed position. The entireassembly I3, IT, I8 is thereby rocked from its operative position,shownin dot-dash lines in Fig. 3, to its retracted position illustrated infull lines in the same figure; it will be seen that in the latterposition-the tip of holder I3 lies within the outline of the receptacleI2, enabling the latter to be fully inserted into the housing Ill. Whenthe receptacle is again pulled out, the resiliency of springmember IBcauses the humps |8Ct and the holder I 3 to return-to the positionshown in Fig. 1. It will be noted that the holder I3 whenprojectingfrom" the receptacle is slightly inclined inaforwarddirection, therebyresting against thefront edge of thereceptacle; thus the holder will'nrot alter its position when thecigarette it isforced down upon it.

The embodiment shown in Figs. 4 and 5 operates essentially in the samemanneras the device just described, except that usehasbeen made of leveraction to reduce thetravel of the cam member so that its humpswillproject less prominently above the receptacle.

A yoke member I I8, provided with humps H8a similar to the humps of wireI8 in the preceding embodiment, is pivotally secured to the side Wallsof the receptacle H2 at II9. This member, which consists of a rigidstrip of rectangular cross section, is formed at its center with a crossbar H817, the latter bearing upon a J-shaped blade spring I20 riveted atI2I to the bottom of the receptacle. The free end of spring I20 ishinged to the lower end of a link I22 whose upper end is linked to aspur I I1 which is rigid with the holder I13, extending at an acuteangle thereto.

and together with the latter is pivoted on shaft I I5 journaled in lugsI I6.

A tongue I23, provided with a cross-shaped cutout I24, serves as anextinguisher and is pivoted on the shaft H5 in rigid relationship withthe members In and H3. When an automobile driver wishes to use theextinguisher, he will reach for the holder II3 whose projecting endserves as a guide to the extinguisher, thus permitting use of the latterwithout requiring the driver to take his eyes ofi the road. Thealternate positions are shown in Fig. 5, full lines indicating theoperative and dot-dash lines the retracted position. It will be seenthat the extinguisher I23, which in the operative position is maintainedhorizontal by the upward pressure of spring I20, extends verticallydownwardly when the receptacle is replaced, thereby dumping any ashes orcigarette butts that had been deposited thereon. Because the leveraction of the movable arm of flat spring I magnifies the verticaldisplacement of the yoke member I I8, it is only necessary for the humpsor cam portions I I8a to rise a small distance above the upper edge ofthe receptacle II2.

It should be noted that the invention is not limited to the specificforms described and illustrated; more particularly, the arrangementdisclosed may be readily adapted to other types of automobile ash trayswithout departing from the scope and spirit of the invention. Thus itwill be apparent that the downward camming action depressing anoperating member such as I8 or II8 may be executed by any stationaryelement fixed to the dash board or even'by the dash board itself; also,the wire spring I8 or the blade spring I20 may be replaced byan'equivalent arrangement comprising a spring-biased lever pivoted atone end or at some intermediate point. These and other modifications andadaptations will be readily apparent to persons skilled in the art andare intended to be included within the scope of the'appended claims.

I claim:

1. In an ash receiver adapted to be mounted in an automobile dash board,in combination, a receptacle movable relative to said dash board,operating means in said receptacle including a cam, a portion of saidmeans being resilient to urge said cam beyond said receptacle into anoperative position, said cam being repressible into an inoperativeposition within said receptacle upon the latter being completelyretracted inside said dashboard, and a holder member adapted to retain acigarette and linked to said operating means, said holder member projecting beyond said receptacle upon said cam occupying said operativeposition and being withdrawn inside said receptacle upon said camoccupying said inoperative position.

2. In an ash receiver adapted to be mounted in an automobile dash board,in combination, a receptaole movable relative to said dash board,operating means in said receptacle including a cam, a portion of saidmeans being resilient to urge said cam beyond said receptacle into anoperative position, said cam being repressible into an inoperativeposition within said receptacle upon the latter being completelyretracted inside said dash board, a cigarette holder provided with abifurcate end and pivotally mounted inside said receptacle, and linkmeans operatively connecting said holder with said operating means, saidlink means causing said bifurcate end to project from said receptacleupon said cam occupying said operative position and withdrawing saidbifurcate end into said receptacle upon said cam occupying saidinoperative position.

3. The combination according to claim 2 wherein said link means includesan element rigid 'with said holder and mounted on a common pivottherewith.

4. The combination according to claim 3 wherein said element encloses anacute angle with said holder.

5. The combination according to claim 2 wherein said resilient portioncomprises a resilient arm integral with said cam..

6. The combination according to claim 5 wherein said operating meanscomprises a resilient wire of generally U-shaped configuration, said camcomprising a hump provided on an arm of the U.

7. The combination according to claim 2, including lever meanstranslating the displacement of said cam into a magnified displacementof said holder.

8. The combination according to claim 7 wherein said lever means is partof said resilient portion.

9. The combination according to claim 2, including extinguisher meansrigid with said cigarette holder and mounted on a common pivot therewithso as to become accessible, together with said holder, upon partialwithdrawal of said receptacle from said dash board, said holder byvirtue of its projecting end then serving as a guide to saidextinguisher.

10. In an ash receiver adapted to be mounted in an automobile dashboard, in combination, a housing fixed in said dash board, a receptaclereceived in said housing and displaceable relative thereto, operatingmeans in said receptacle including a cam, a portion of said means beingresilient to urge said cam beyond said receptacle into an operativeposition, means including said housing repressing said cam into aninoperative position within said receptacle upon the latter beingcompletely retracted inside said housing, and a holder member adapted toretain a cigarette and linked to said operating means, said holdermember projecting beyond said receptacle upon said cam occupyingsaidoperative position and being withdrawn inside said receptacle upon saidcam occupying said inoperative position.

DAVID STEPKIN.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS

